Hat



June 13, 1939. E. wlTTcoFF 2,162,149

HAT

Filed May 26, 1937 INVENTOR. Edward miwafi.

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 13, 1939 HAT Edward Wittcoif, University City, Mo., assignor to Caradine Hat Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application May 26, 1937, Serial No. 144,836

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a certain new and useful improvement in hats and has for its object the provision, as anew article of manufacture, of a hat comprising, as a unitary or onepiece structure, a crown and a wide flaring brim especially, though not exclusively, adapted for feminine wear.

And with the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hat constructed in accordance with and embodying my present invention, illustrating the front and top portions of the hat as positioned on the head of a wearer;

Figure 2 is another perspective view of the hat, illustrating particularly the underside and crown portions thereof as positioned on the head of the wearer; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the hat, taken approximately along the line 33, Figure 1.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hat, which in final form, is preferably of socalled sun or beach type, is constructed from a single section of woven straw or other suitable material having some resiliency or flexibility shaped upon itself to include as a unitary structure a cap-like crown A and a broad outwardly sweeping or flaring brim B.

The crown A has a gently arcuate or curved top wall a and the form generally of a shallow shell-cap, so to speak, its upstanding annular side or head-encircling wall I being integrally joined by a bend 2 with a second upstanding annular wall 3, which latter extends upwardly in approximate facewise contiguous abutment around the crown-wall I. Adjacent the upper margin of the wall I, the wall 3 is integrally joined by a gentle arcuate bend 4 with the crown B. The wall 3 and bend 4 thus form substantially parts of the brim, the crown-wall I and the inner brim-wall 3 being secured firmly in facewise abutting relation preferably by means of a plurality of rows of thread-stitches or the like 5.

The hat structure of my present invention may be preferably constructed by fabricating a basic one-piece hat-body in substantially conoidal form and then subsequently molding the hat-body over either hot or cold male and female dies to form an annular U-shaped or V-shaped indentation therein, as at 6, which produces the side wall I of the crown A, the bend 2, and the upwardly turned and extending roll or wall 3 of the brim B. The vertically or upstanding extending por- 5 tions or walls I and 3 of the indentation 6 may then be pressed together and secured in such position either by the rows of stitches 5 or by any other suitable or convenient means.

Hat structures constructed in accordance with my present invention may thus be very economically and inexpensively manufactured and will fit snugly upon the head of the wearer. By reason of the flexibility of the material forming the hat-body and, further, by reason of the integral formation of the crown A, the hat, notwithstanding its shallow crown A, will grip the head comfortably and snugly, the weight of the brim B tending to cause the lower margin of the crown wall I to swing slightly inwardly for head-gripping engagement. Such unique effect furthermore tends to throw a radial stiffening stress into the expanse of the brim B, imparting substantial firmness and rigidity thereto and allowing the brim B to extend outwardly in a graceful downward curve or sweep.

Thus, by my present invention, I provide a unitary hat structure which is not only exceptionally durable, simple, and economical in construction, but which is also exceedingly convenient and comfortable for the wearer, providing an attractive light-weight hat particularly for feminine wear which may be utilized as a sun or beach hat, and which is graceful and artistic in appearance. 35

It will be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the hat may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A hat comprising, a crown portion having an annular head-encircling side wall, a brim por- 45 tion extending upwardly around and against the lower outer face of the side wall and then rolled in a wide curve separated from the head-encircling side wall and flared downwardly and outwardly from said rolled formation, and means 50 securing the overlying part around the headencircling wall.

2. A hat constructed of a single piece of flexible sheet-like material formed in its middle as a crown having a head-encircling annular side wall, the material around the side wall being folded back upwardly and against the outer side of the annular side wall and having the folded back portion secured to the side wall of the crown and then being rolled over in a wide roll separated from the head-encircling side wall as a brim and being flared outwardly from the crown portion.

3. A hat comprising, a single piece of flexible sheet-like material formed in its middle as a rounded over crown having a head-encircling annular side wall, the material around the side wall being folded back upwardly to lie against the head-encircling part of the crown and being then rolled over in a wide roll separated from the head-encircling side wall as a brim and being flared outwardly and downwardly from the crown portion as substantially a continuation of the general arcuate form thereof, and stitching securing the folded back formation unitarily around the side wall portion of the crown.

EDWARD WITTCOFF. 

